Electric lawn ornament



.E. A. STEC ELECTRIC LAWN ORNAMENT Oct. 21, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledJune 50, 1954 I INVENTOR. Edward A. ,S'zec .Hzs Attorney Oct. 21, 1958EA. sTEc ELECTRIC LAWN ORNAMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 30, 1954INVENTOR. Edward A Siec BY .HZSAZZOFrzg 2,851,507 ELECTRIC LAWN.ORNAMENT Edward A.S tec, Cicero, In. Application June 30, 1954,Serial'No. 440,330 4 Claims. 01. 240-104 Theinvention relates to lawnornaments and more particularly to ornaments which are used incelebrating holiday periods and is in the class of mechanicallycontrolled celebrating equipment and more particularly to equipmentwhich utilizes lightby. producing and moving shafts of different colorlights for an attractive and pleasing effect.

During the Christmas season it has become an accepted practice amonghouse dwellers to add to the spirit of the seasons occasions by havingappropriate artistic showings placed on the front of their house andlawn, front porches and windows which may be enjoyed by passersby.Fourth of July and Decoration Day may also be celebrated in part byprovisions of this kind as well as family celebrations which may belivened by devices of this nature, it also being remembered that peopleof different faiths and nationalities celebrate or make other showingsupon occasion which may be enchanced by effects of this kind.

An object of the inventionis to provide light action equipment whichembodies movable light elements of different colors and to provideunique reflectors for such lights which move withsame.

It is also an object to provide such reflectors in the form of windwheel blades sothat when the device is placed out of doors and'moreespecially on ones lawn the wind blowing against the 'same will propelthe blades and lights in rotary movements and produce an interlacingofdiiferent color light shafts.

Itis an important object to provide for. using electrical light bulbs ofdifferent colors on a wind driven rotor and to provide frictionalelements which communicate current for such lights from a stationaryconnection which communicates with a source of current supply.

It is also an object to produce a device for the above purposes whichmay be very economically constructed, and which will be very durable inoperation.

It is a further object to provide for quickly mounting the device forimmediate use so that it may be readily moved from one mounting locationto another, and be removed from mounting provisions at will.

The above and other objects are attained by the structure illustrated inthe accompanying drawing in which similar characters of referencedesignate similar parts throughout the different views.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the invention in operating position.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the invention.

Fig. 3 is a view from the rear showing a part of the supporting means.

Fig. 4 is a detail view indicating one choice of mounting arrangement.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken in the proximity ofline 5--5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a view taken in the proximity of line 6-6 of Fig. 5 with someof the parts removed.

Fig. 7 is a cross sectional view taken in the proximity of line 7-7 ofFig. 5. 4

Patiited Oct. 21 1958 Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary cross'sectionalview taken in the proximity of line 88 of Fig. 6.

Referring to Fig. 1, the numeral 1 designates the Wind wheel of theinvention which in'this instance is con-.

veniently produced from a single piece of four cornered sheet metalpreferably aluminum slit and formed in the manner of an old and wellfamiliarized four bladed wind wheel which children have made for manyyears from paper. Arelatively large central hole 2 in the rear- Wardwall 3 of said wind wheel is fitted over the insulating commuter housing4, the stationary shaft 5 mounting said housing and concentricallyengaging the hub member 6 which engages each one of the flaps 7 througha suitable hole in the end of each.

Referring to Fig. 2, Fig. 3 and Fig. 5 it will be observed that theshaftS extends rearwardly to engagement with the supporting bracketSwhich'is made from a length of steel bar stock, the normally upper endbeingbent flatways into a circular band formation 9 having a leg 10 fromwhich said formation continues at substantially right angles thereto andterminates in the straight right angle section 11 which serves as athumb lever and.

is spaced from said leg and approximately parallel there-- to. The shaft5 is disposed diametrically across said. formation and through the barmaterial at two opposite points thereof, the two holes 12 being providedto thus receive said shaft.

Before said shaft is assembled as shown in Fig. 2, Fig. 3- and Fig. 5,the formation 9 is contracted as indicated by lines 13 by pressing thethumb lever 11 towards the leg 10 as indicated by lines 13. The shaft 5is then inserted and the holes 12 are of proper size to bind on saidshaft when said thumb lever is released; the shaft is thus locked inposition on the bracket 8. t

The commuter housing 4 is of cylindrical character and has a flange 15at its rearward end and the wheel 1. is confined longitudinally betweenthis flange and the flange 16 at the forward end'of the hub member 6.Said hub member is threaded exteriorly and the other end is providedwith a nut 17 which serves to hold the.wind

I wheel flaps 7 snugly together.

The commuter housing 4 forms a rearwardly facing round compartment 18extending within said housing to the hub wall 19 which forms in thisexample four bulb socket holes parallel to the shaft 5. Each of saidholes accommodates one of the forwardlyfacing light bulb' sockets 20.All of said sockets share in mounting-the smaller commuter ring 21 towhich they are secured through conducting material such as solder orbrazing.

Said ring is concentric with said housing and the shaft.

5. The other, or larger commuter ring 22 is likewise mountedconcentrically by the brackets 23 which are insulated from the sockets20 and conveniently communicated to the insulated central socketcontacts 24 by the rivets 25 which serve to hold said sockets andbrackets 23 together, it being understood that insulating material issuitably provided as required in the art.

A stationary insulating plate having a round flange 26 is mounted on theshaft 5 and is disposed clearingly within the compartment 18approximately flush with the respective end of the housing 4. Saidplate'forms a hub 27 conveniently secured on the shaft 5 by the screw 28which engages said shaft frictionally. Commuter brushes 29 and 30 aremounted on the forward face of said flange and ride the commuter rings21 and 22, respectively. Said brushes are of arcuate plan as illustratedin Fig. 7 and are spirally tensioned against said rings as shown in Fig.5, the mounted ends thereof being secured to the plate 26 by rivets 31,it being understood, of course, that said brushes are arranged so thatthe frictional drag of the commuter rings on said brushes iscodirectional with the free ends of the same.

From the foregoing it willbe understood that current is had from asource of supply through the conductors 32 to the light bulbs 33 by wayof the brushes 29 and 30,

the ,commuter rings-21 22 andthe respective. socket elementsaforementioned,

Referring again to1Fig. 5, it will be observed that; the

structure ofeachofthe blades 36 serve; as individual light reflectorsforthe.-diiferent-.bulbs;tso. that each produces a controlled shaft oflight and. it will berealized that bulbs of different colors throwoutfusing lights of corresponding colors and also lay their combinationsthrow out lights] difiering in color from either of the original lights..As thewind wheel isconveniently made with four blades itv has beenfound-appropriate toprovide the same number of bulbsockets in the hubstructure 6.

The invention may be installed temporarily or somewhat permanentlyforexample fastening itto the window frame 37 by screws through holes inthe *bracket 8 as designated in Fig: 1. A more temporary installation isindicated in Fig. 4, in. which said bracket is shown attachedto-a woodenstake 38, driven in the ground.

One selection of 'colored bulbs to be used as described above would be:red, blue, orange, and green, although different combinations maybeused at-will. 7

While I- have shown and described the preferred form of the invention 1;do not wish to be limited to the precise details shown and described butwish to availmyself of all the variations coming fairly Within the scopeof the appending claims.

The invention claimed is:

1-. A-wind driven light ornament comprising a normally horizontal shaft,a bracket engagingone end of said shaft and. fixedly mounting thelatter, a commutator brush mounting removably fixed to said shaft, a hubrotatably circumposed about said' shaft on the side of said brushmounting remote'from said one shaft end, a plurality. of lamp socketsinsaid hub opening away from said mounting, a plurality .oflamps in saidsockets and projecting on said hub facing toward said mounting andelectrically connected to the base contacts of said lamps, a pair of 5mutator rings to feed current from a source of supply through saidbrushes to said rings for illuminating said.

lamps upon rotation of said hub, and wind driven blades projectinggenerally radially from said hub for rotation therewith and partiallycovering said lampsto successively obscure and expose said lamps to anobserver upon rotation of said hub and blades.

2. A wind driven light ornament according to claim 1, said hub beingformed with a recess facing toward said one shaft end, said commutatorrings, brushes and mounting being located interiorly of said recess withsaid -m0unting substantially closing said recess.

3. A wind driven light ornament according to claim 1, said blades beingfabricated of light-reflectivematerial, each of said blades partiallycovering a respective one of said lamps.

4. A wind driven light ornament according to claim 3,

each of said blades being fabricated of an ,arcuately bent. sheetadjacent to a respective one of said lamps having. its concave'surfacefacing toward said adjacentlamp and having opposite portions of saidsheet'respectively secured to said hub and rotatably connected to theother endxof said shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent *UNITED STATES PATENTS505,098 ";-,-F1im Sept. 19, 1893 546,456 Montgomery Sept. 17, 18951,043,981 Strong Nov. 12, 1912 1,352,674 "Mitchel Sept. 14,1920,1,734,858 Keller Nov. 5, 1929 i 1,803,598 Graig May 5, 1931 2,092,520Nielsen Sept. 7, 1937 2,279,182 Snyder Apr. 7, 1942!, 40 2,366,950-Wright 'Jan. 9,1945

2,510,336 Donahue June 6, 1950 2,556,472 Gray June I2,, 1 951 2,562,021Dotten ..Ju1y'2 4, 195.1 2,592,286 Jacobs .Apr. '8, 1952, v

FOREIGN P TENrs 319.880

-;Syretz July'29,"-1952

